One very important thing to note is that the Taiwan card is *not* 1GB. The unformatted capacity is 995MB !!

I called Kingston, and provided this information to them, and voiced my concern that selling 2 devices that are completely different under the same part number was very irresponsible on their part. They were happy to offer an RMA replacement for the Japan-made card. The are advance shipping me the replacement (the put a temp hold on your credit card for that), and they emailed be a printout to take to my local FedEx dropoff so that Kingston pays the return shipping.

I will say I am still a bit miffed about the whole 2 cards under one part number thing, but I am happy to see them offer to replace it.

I would suggest that others do the same thing, so that they can understand that they should not offer 2 different products under the same part number, especially when one is great, and the other sucks ass.

Just gave this a shot, since I'm itching to get my Kingston Taiwan card replaced with a Kingston Japan one. I didn't go into the same kind of detail that you did, but they basically told me to screw off. They asked what device I was using the microSD card with, and said that if it's not a device listed as specifically compatible with the card then there's nothing they could do (line of horseshit as we all know, but it's a pretty standard response). The question caught me off guard, so I told them we were using it in my girlfriend's camera but that I didn't know the make/model of the camera off-hand and that I would check on it for them and call them back.

When I was explaining the issue, I just told them that I owned a Kingston Taiwan and a Kingston Japan version of this card and that the Taiwan card performed significantly slower in my device than the Japanese one did, and I was wondering if I could swap it out for a Japanese one. The guy's answer was basically something to the tune of "well certain cards are going to be faster than others, I mean if it's working at all in the device I don't see what exchanging it is going to do for you."

Fucking shit.

Anyone have any suggestions for what to say when I try back? It's not really about the $15 for the card, it's more about the principle of the matter and being irritated that I had to just blindly order and hope for the right card, then get stuck with shittier performance because I didn't "win" a very small lottery.

I told him I was using the card in a Motorola RAZR V3i (which of course, I'm not) and that while both cards work and show up just fine in the device the Taiwanese one is noticeably slower both in the device and plugged into my computer, my girlfriend's computer, and my laptop. I said that we ran it through HDTach (which we didn't, but you sure kindly did!) and found that the random access time on the Taiwanese card was almost twice as slow as on the Japanese one and was wondering if it would be possible to replace it.

He assured me that even if they would replace it (which he then assured me they wouldn't), that there would be no way to ensure I received a Japanese card and that I run the risk of having the same thing happen again. I told him that I didn't think it seemed fair to have paid the same price for both cards, but for one of them to be a steaming pile compared to the other. He just defaulted back to his earlier "all cards aren't the same speed" argument and refused to budge.

What a bunch of shit. I'll be avoiding Kingston if possible in the future.

I told them I use the cards in my Treo smartphone, various computers with various card readers, and in a "media player device for the Nintendo DS" (all true) I see no reason to dodge the fact that we are using a flash cart. I didn't say I plan to play illegal roms, of course, because that is completely immaterial to the issue.

Did you point out that the Taiwan card is actually smaller than the advertised size? 5MB is not a huge amount, but it is certainly false advertising on their part.

I was calm, and to the point, and the tech support person that I got was very helpful. He asked that I send him the markings on the cards, so that they could be sure to sent the better part as a replacement.

...and in a "media player device for the Nintendo DS"Â (all true) I see no reason to dodge the fact that we are using a flash cart.

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The guy I spoke with was really adamant that he wouldn't do anything for me if the device wasn't explicitly marked as compatible on their list of supported devices, which is why I didn't bother mentioning the flashcart. I don't care about the legality of it.

I didn't mention the size thing, because I figured that would just launch him into a canned rant about how formatted capacities appear differently than advertised capacities because of the way bits and bytes are calculated, even though we both know that's not what's going on here. I just didn't want to fight with him about that, but I'll be certain to keep that in mind if I call again. The other issue that I run into is that while I have a Toshiba card in the mail (from "fastmemoryman" on eBay), I don't have it in hand yet so I wouldn't be able to read model number information off of that. I don't plan to keep purchasing Kingston cards hoping for a Japanese one just so I'll have access to the numbers on it to read off to Kingston in hopes of getting the card I just went out and paid for a second time.

I might try back later and hope that I get a different person who doesn't have a stick up their ass.

...and in a "media player device for the Nintendo DS" (all true) I see no reason to dodge the fact that we are using a flash cart.
The guy I spoke with was really adamant that he wouldn't do anything for me if the device wasn't explicitly marked as compatible on their list of supported devices, which is why I didn't bother mentioning the flashcart. I don't care about the legality of it.

I didn't mention the size thing, because I figured that would just launch him into a canned rant about how formatted capacities appear differently than advertised capacities because of the way bits and bytes are calculated, even though we both know that's not what's going on here. I just didn't want to fight with him about that, but I'll be certain to keep that in mind if I call again. The other issue that I run into is that while I have a Toshiba card in the mail (from "fastmemoryman" on eBay), I don't have it in hand yet so I wouldn't be able to read model number information off of that. I don't plan to keep purchasing Kingston cards hoping for a Japanese one just so I'll have access to the numbers on it to read off to Kingston in hopes of getting the card I just went out and paid for a second time.

I might try back later and hope that I get a different person who doesn't have a stick up their ass.

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I checked out the Kingston website, and under their support section, they have a RMA section. It states that:

"3. This online RMA process is for replacement/repair of defective modules
only. To exchange, refund or receive a credit for your product, please return it
to the company from which it was purchased."

Assuming this is the applicable section, they have NO obligation to exchange your product, especially if it is in working order (seems to reinforce what the second guy posted when they refused to budge)

I may try to call Kingston myself since stupid newegg just sent me two Taiwan Kingston cards (SDC/1GB) , but I'm not expecting much.

Just got my Kingston from Meritline. The packaging says it was assembled in Japan and the card formats to 982MB so I'm guessing it's the Japanese version, but the SD adapter says Taiwan. I hoping the adapter just came from another factory.

BTW: 995MB would be a correct capacity for this type of card. Any flash card will show slightly less than the capacity stated on the card due to format and wear leveling.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to reply to this e-mail. Thank you for using Kingston on-line technical support.

Oh well, its worth a shot anyways.

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Yeah, definitely worth a shot. I just called Kingston today, and got them to replace mine (they pay for shipping both ways as well =) This beats sending it back to newegg (where you have to pay a 15% restocking fee, and they don't guarantee what version you will get (even though the pic on their website for SDC/1GB SPECIFICALLY states that it is made in Japan -- it's completely random as I received the Taiwan version instead)

I recommend calling Kingston directly, as opposed to filling out the online replacement form. Talk to the warranty returns department (which will transfer you to a technican to discuss your problem). If you are lucky like myself and the original poster, you will get a helpful person willing to initiate the exchange (and not an unhelpful SOB that Kalibar got) -- if I got that dumbass I wasn't going to waste any time with him and instead call back tomorrow.

It doesn't matter whether the card has been opened/used, as there is supposedly a "lifetime warranty"....

DeVante's argument is probably the best one to start with (that the Taiwan card formats to ONLY 952 MB, while the Japanese cards formats to 982 MB). Zesta pointed out the smaller size in his initial post as well.

That's basically all I needed to say for the guy to do the exchange (I mentioned slower access times as well on compatible devices). The technician wanted the numbers on back of the packaging, so make sure to have all the information ready. I told him I specifically wanted sdc/1gb (assembled in Japan) -- he put me on hold for a few minutes and found the correct version. With the advance shipping option, you can receive the new card before sending your old one back.

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